User interface for presenting clinical order content based upon designated performance location

ABSTRACT

Computerized methods and systems for permitting clinicians and other healthcare providers to designate performance locations for clinical orders having one or more phases associated therewith, and for presenting order catalog content that is flexed based upon the designated performance location for the clinical order are provided. Further provided are computerized methods and systems for permitting clinicians and other healthcare providers to designate a performance location for each phase of a multi-phase clinical order, and for presenting order catalog content for each phase that is flexed based upon the designated performance location for the phase. User interfaces for presenting content associated with clinical orders based upon designated performance locations are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related by subject matter to the invention disclosedin the commonly assigned applications U.S. application Ser. No.12/264,729, entitled “Presenting Multi-Phase Clinical Order ContentBased Upon a Designated Performance Location”, and U.S. application Ser.No. 12/264,725, entitled “Ordering Clinical Orders Associated withFuture Events”, each of which is filed on even date herewith and each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Clinical orders are requests placed by clinical or healthcare providersfor, e.g., procedures, medications, laboratory tests, evaluations,treatments, and nursing tasks to be done for a patient. In anon-electronic clinical order system, clinical orders from differentcategories in one healthcare plan (such as medications, labs, diagnostictests, and nursing orders) are generally documented on a single piece ofpaper. A healthcare plan includes multiple orders for treatment for aparticular problem or ailment. For example, a healthcare plan for acancer patient may include multiple medication orders and laboratorytesting orders. Once these orders are reviewed by a healthcare provider,the necessary orders for different categories are forwarded to thecorrect location to be completed or filled. For example, if one orderincludes a medication, a medication paper order may be sent to thepharmacy to be filled. If one of the orders in the healthcare plan isfor a laboratory test, a paper laboratory requisition form may be sentto the laboratory. In the paper healthcare ordering system, it istypically possible to go back to the original paper order set containingall of the orders for the healthcare plan. An example of a healthcareplan or procedure would be chemotherapy protocol that includes multipleorders for medications, laboratory tests, and diagnostic tests. Anotherexample would be an arthroscopic surgical protocol that includes apre-operative consultation, a surgical procedure, post-operative care,and physical therapy.

In an electronic healthcare order environment, if a set of orders isplaced for a healthcare plan, once the orders have been reviewed, theyare electronically dispersed to the appropriate location, such as thepharmacy or laboratory application. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.11/022,540, 11/020,489, and 11/021,509 (each of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety) describe methods andsystems for creating and maintaining associations among the orders in ahealthcare plan in a computerized environment such that the associationsmay be accessed and viewed after one or more of the orders isdistributed to the proper application to be filled.

Often times a clinical order (or set of clinical orders) will set fortha healthcare plan having components which span multiple phases. Forinstance, a healthcare plan for a chemotherapy protocol may specify thata particular medication is to be given in a specified dosage on threeseparate days, e.g., Day 1, Day 8, and Day 15. In this instance, eachday may be viewed as a separate phase. Phases, however, are not limitedto units of time. In simple terms, a phase is merely a plan and,accordingly, may be a unit of time, a diagnostic grouping, or any othersub-plan within a healthcare plan. In another example, a healthcare planfor an arthroscopic surgical protocol may specify that a pre-operativeconsultation, a surgical procedure, post-operative care, and physicaltherapy are to occur for a particular patient. In this instance, each ofthe pre-operative consultation, the surgical procedure, thepost-operative care and the physical therapy are different phases of theclinical order for the arthroscopic surgical protocol.

Typically, in an electronic healthcare order environment, when aclinical order (or set of orders) spans multiple phases, each componentof each phase appears to a user as a separate order. More importantly,each component of each phase appears to the electronic environment as aseparate order. This means that each component of each phase must beentered into the electronic system separately and any modification to aparticular component must be entered for that component in each of thephases in which it may appear. For instance, in the above chemotherapyprotocol example, if it is desired to modify the dosage of themedication that is to be given to the patient on each of Days 1, 8 and15, such modification must be separately entered for each of the threephases. Such duplicate entering is not only inefficient but increasesthe possibility of human error.

U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/359,011, 11/359,012, and 11/359,013(each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety) describe methods and systems for associating components whichspan multiple phases of a healthcare plan and permitting modification ofcomponents thereof to be applied to all components associated therewith.In this way, modifications may be entered one time instead of once foreach phase to which they apply.

Utilizing a plan-based system such as that described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 11/359,011, 11/359,012 and 11/359,013, healthcareplans spanning multiple phases may be ordered by a clinician or otherhealthcare provider as a unit. That is, a clinician or other healthcareprovider may order a chemotherapy or arthroscopic surgery protocol for aparticular patient, and each phase associated with the ordered protocolwill be ordered. However, such multi-phase healthcare plans may only beordered if the plan is capable of being performed at the same locationor facility. For instance, it may be possible for a clinician to placean order for a chemotherapy protocol as it is likely that each phase ofthe chemotherapy protocol is going to be performed at the same location,e.g., the hospital or outpatient treatment facility. With respect to thearthroscopic surgery protocol, however, it is likely that some of thephases are not going to be performed at the same location. For instance,the surgical procedure and post-operative care are likely to beperformed at a hospital while the physical therapy is likely to beperformed at an outpatient physical therapy clinic. Thus, in thearthroscopic surgery protocol example, since all phases are not to beperformed at the same location, ordering of the protocol as a singleunit by placing a single clinical order is not possible.

Generally, the primary reason that a healthcare plan having multiplephases that are not all to be performed at the same location cannot beordered by placing a single clinical order is because of the ordercatalog options made available to the ordering clinician or otherhealthcare provider. That is, when viewing the order catalog from whichto select plans to be performed, the content of the order catalog thatis made available to the ordering clinician includes only those planswhich can be performed in association with a particularlocation—generally the location of the chart encounter (that is, theencounter the clinician or other healthcare provider has currentlyselected within the patient's chart). Thus, if a clinician is currentlyengaged with a chart encounter associated with a hospital, only plansthat can be performed in their entirety at the hospital will be madeavailable to the clinician for selection. In this way, not only areavailable plans limited to those plans which can be performed in theirentirety at a single location, the single location at which they can beperformed is the location of the chart encounter. Thus, healthcare plansthat include multiple phases, wherein at least two of the phases are tobe performed at differing locations with respect to one another, must beordered as separate orders rather than as a single unit. Further, evenplans having multiple phases, each of which is to be performed at thesame location, cannot be ordered in association with a chart encounteras such plans will not be made available to the clinician or otherhealthcare provider for selection.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate to computer-readable mediahaving computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performingmethods, in a clinical computing environment, for permitting ordering ofclinical orders to be associated with future encounters. In oneembodiment, the method includes receiving, in association with a chartencounter associated with a first location, an indication that a userdesires to place a clinical order, the clinical order having one or morephases associated therewith, each of the one or more phases to beperformed at the same location, and each of the one or more phaseshaving a plurality of orders associated therewith. The method furtherincludes receiving a performance location designation to be associatedwith the clinical order, and presenting at least one selectable clinicalorder option representing an orderable clinical order having one or morephases associated therewith, each of the phases being capable of beingperformed at the designated performance location, and each of the phaseshaving a plurality of orders associated therewith. The method inaccordance with this embodiment may further include receiving aselection of one of the selectable clinical order options and presentingcontent associated with the orderable clinical order represented by theselected clinical order option.

Further embodiments of the present invention relate to computer-readablemedia having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon forperforming a method in a clinical computing environment, for permittingordering of clinical orders to be associated with a future encounter. Inone embodiment, the method includes receiving, in association with achart encounter associated with a first location, an indication that auser desires to place a clinical order, the clinical order having aplurality of phases associated therewith, each of the plurality ofphases to be performed at the same location. The method further includesreceiving a performance location designation to be associated with theclinical order, and presenting at least one selectable clinical orderoption, each selectable clinical order option representing an orderableclinical order having a plurality of phases associated therewith, eachof the plurality of phases being capable of being performed at thedesignated performance location. The method in accordance with thisembodiment may further include receiving a selection of one of theselectable clinical order options and presenting content associated withthe orderable clinical order represented by the selected clinical orderoption.

Embodiments of the present invention further relate to methods, in aclinical computing environment, for permitting ordering of clinicalorders to be associated with future encounters. The method includesreceiving, in association with a chart encounter associated with a firstlocation, an indication that a user desires to place a clinical order,the clinical order having one or more phases associated therewith, eachof the phases to be performed at the same location. The method furtherincludes receiving a grouped-performance-location designation to beassociated with the clinical order and presenting at least oneselectable clinical order option, each clinical order optionrepresenting an orderable clinical order each phase of which is capableof being performed at one or more of a plurality of locations associatedwith the grouped-performance-location designation. The method inaccordance with this embodiment may further include receiving aselection of one of the selectable clinical order options and presentingeach of the plurality of locations at which the selected clinical orderoption is capable of being performed, receiving a selection of one ofthe presented locations and presenting content associated with theorderable clinical order represented by the selected clinical orderoption flexed based upon the selected location.

Still further, embodiments of the present invention relate to systems,in a clinical computing environment, for permitting ordering of clinicalorders to be associated with a future encounter. In one embodiment, thesystem includes an order indication receiving component, anencounter-type receiving component, a location receiving component and apresenting component. The order indication receiving component receives,in association with a chart encounter associated with a first location,an indication that a user desires to place a clinical order, theclinical order having one or more phases associated therewith, each ofthe phases to be performed at the same location. The encounter-typereceiving component receives an indication that the clinical encounteris to be performed in association with a future encounter. The locationreceiving component receives a performance location designation to beassociated with the clinical order. The presenting component presents atleast one selectable clinical order option, each option representing anorderable clinical order having one or more phases associated therewith,each of the phases being capable of being performed at the designatedperformance location. The system in accordance with this embodiment mayfurther include a selection receiving component that receives aselection of one of the clinical order options and the presentingcomponent may further present content associated with the orderableclinical order represented by the selected clinical order option.

Embodiments of the present invention further relate to computer-readablemedia having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon forperforming methods, in a clinical computing environment, for presentingcontent associated with multi-phase clinical orders based upon adesignated performance location. In one embodiment, the method includesreceiving, in association with a chart encounter associated with a firstlocation, selection of a multi-phase clinical order; for each of thephases of the multi-phase clinical order, receiving a performancelocation designation representing a location at which the associatedphase is to be performed, the performance location designations for atleast two of the phases of the multi-phase clinical order differing fromone another; and presenting content associated with at least one phaseof the multi-phase clinical order, the presented content being basedupon the selected performance location associated with the at least onephase.

Additionally, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods, ina clinical computing environment, for presenting content associated withmulti-phase clinical orders based upon designated performance locations.In one embodiment, the method includes receiving, in association with achart encounter associated with a first performance location, anindication that a user desires to place a multi-phase clinical order;presenting at least one selectable multi-phase clinical order option,each presented selectable multi-phase clinical order option representinga multi-phase clinical order having at least one phase that is capableof being performed at the first performance location; receiving aselection of one of the at least one selectable multi-phase clinicalorder options; presenting a phase indicator for each of the phasesassociated with the selected multi-phase clinical order option;receiving a selection of one of the presented phase indicators;receiving a performance location designation for a phase of themulti-phase clinical order that is associated with the selected phaseindicator; and presenting content associated with the phase of themulti-phase clinical order that is associated with the selected phaseindicators, the presented content being based upon the receivedperformance location designation.

Embodiments of the present invention further relate to systems, in aclinical computing environment, for presenting content associated withmulti-phase clinical orders based upon designated performance locations.In one embodiment, the system includes an order indication receivingcomponent, a presenting component, a selection receiving component and alocation receiving component. The order indication receiving componentreceives, in association with a chart encounter associated with a firstperformance location, an indication that a user desires to place aclinical order, the clinical order having multiple phases associatedtherewith. The presenting component presents at least one selectableclinical order option, each selectable clinical order optionrepresenting a multi-phase clinical order having at least one phase thatis capable of being performed at the first performance location, and aphase indicator for each of the phases associated with a selected one ofthe clinical order options. The selection receiving component receives aselection of one of the clinical order options and a selection of one ofthe phase indicators associated with the selected clinical order option.The location receiving component receives a performance locationdesignation associated with a phase of the multi-phase clinical orderthat is associated with the selected phase indicator. If desired, thesystem may further include one or more of an encounter-type receivingcomponent that receives an indication that the clinical order is to beperformed in association with a future encounter, an individualizationcomponent that receives detail-level individualization information forthe phase of the multi-phase clinical order that is associated with theselected phase indicator, a location-association determining componentthat determines that the phase of the multi-phase clinical order that isassociated with the selected phase indicator is locationally-associatedwith another phase of the multi-phase clinical order, an associatingcomponent that automatically associates the designated performancelocation with the other phase, an initiation determining component thatdetermines whether the phase of the multi-phase clinical order that isassociated with the selected phase indicator is capable of beinginitiated in association with the chart encounter, and an initiatingcomponent that initiates the phase of the multi-phase clinical orderthat is associated with the selected phase indicator upon determinationthat the phase is capable of being initiated in association with thechart encounter.

Still further, embodiments of the present invention relate to userinterfaces embodied on at least one computer-readable medium the userinterface for presenting content associated with clinical orders basedupon designated performance location. In one embodiment, the userinterface includes a location-specification display area that receivesand displays a designated performance location to be associated with aclinical order, and a clinical order information display area thatpresents content associated with the clinical order, the informationbeing based upon the designated performance location.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to theattached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment suitablefor use in implementing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system suitable forimplementing embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing a method for permitting ordering ofclinical orders to be associated with a future encounter, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a method for permitting ordering ofclinical orders to be associated with a future encounter, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary multi-phase clinical orderhaving phases to be performed at differing locations, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a method for presenting contentassociated with a multi-phase clinical order based upon a designatedperformance location, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 7A-7C are a flow diagram showing a method for presenting contentassociated with a multi-phase clinical order based upon a designatedperformance location, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative screen display of an exemplary user interface,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, that may beutilized to receive location and encounter-type designations and presentappropriate clinical order content based upon such designations;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative screen display of an exemplary user interface,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, whereinlocation and encounter-type designations are not necessarily designatedbefore presentation of appropriate clinical order content;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative screen display of an exemplary userinterface, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,that may be utilized to receive location and encounter-type designationsand present appropriate phase-level content based upon suchdesignations;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative screen display of an exemplary userinterface, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,indicating that a performance location is to be input or selected priorto display of appropriate phase-level content;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative screen display of an exemplary userinterface, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,that may be utilized to receive location and encounter-typedesignations; and

FIG. 13 is an illustrative screen display of an exemplary userinterface, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,displaying an indication that initiation of a selected phase is notpermitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of the present invention is described withspecificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, thedescription itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent.Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject mattermight also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps orcombinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, inconjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover,although the terms “step” and/or “block” may be used herein to connotedifferent elements of methods employed, the terms should not beinterpreted as implying any particular order among or between varioussteps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individualsteps is explicitly described.

Embodiments of the present invention provide computerized methods andsystems for permitting clinicians and other healthcare providers todesignate performance locations for clinical orders having one or morephases associated therewith, and for presenting order catalog contentthat is flexed based upon the designated performance location for theclinical order. Embodiments of the present invention further providecomputerized methods and systems for permitting clinicians and otherhealthcare providers to designate a performance location for each phaseof a multi-phase clinical order, and for presenting order catalogcontent for each phase that is flexed based upon the designatedperformance location for the phase. Embodiments of the present inventionadditionally provide control of plan and phase initiation based at leastupon a location associated with the chart encounter. An exemplaryoperating environment for the present invention is described below.

Referring to the drawings in general, and initially to FIG. 1 inparticular, an exemplary computing system environment, for instance, amedical information computing system, on which embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented is illustrated and designatedgenerally as reference numeral 20. It will be understood and appreciatedby those of ordinary skill in the art that the illustrated medicalinformation computing system environment 20 is merely an example of onesuitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention.Neither should the medical information computing system environment 20be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to anysingle component or combination of components illustrated therein.

Embodiments of the present invention may be operational with numerousother general purpose or special purpose computing system environmentsor configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems,environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use withthe present invention include, by way of example only, personalcomputers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,distributed computing environments that include any of theabove-mentioned systems or devices, and the like.

Embodiments of the present invention may be described in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules,being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include, butare not limited to, routines, programs, objects, components, and datastructures that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. The present invention may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inlocal and/or remote computer storage media including, by way of exampleonly, memory storage devices.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the exemplary medical informationcomputing system environment 20 includes a general purpose computingdevice in the form of a server 22. Components of the server 22 mayinclude, without limitation, a processing unit, internal system memory,and a suitable system bus for coupling various system components,including database cluster 24, with the server 22. The system bus may beany of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus, using any of a variety ofbus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, sucharchitectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, MicroChannel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronic Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus, also known as Mezzanine bus.

The server 22 typically includes, or has access to, a variety ofcomputer readable media, for instance, database cluster 24. Computerreadable media can be any available media that may be accessed by server22, and includes volatile and nonvolatile media, as well as removableand non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computerreadable media may comprise computer storage media. Computer storagemedia may include, without limitation, volatile and nonvolatile media,as well as removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. In thisregard, computer storage media may include, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVDs) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magneticstorage device, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which may be accessed by the server 22.Combinations of any of the above also may be included within the scopeof computer readable media.

The computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 1,including database cluster 24, provide storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for theserver 22.

The server 22 may operate in a computer network 26 using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers 28. Remote computers 28 maybe located at a variety of locations in a medical or researchenvironment, for example, but not limited to, clinical laboratories(e.g., molecular diagnostic laboratories), hospitals and other inpatientsettings, veterinary environments, ambulatory settings, medical billingand financial offices, hospital administration settings, home healthcare environments, and clinicians' offices. Clinicians may include, butare not limited to, a treating physician or physicians, specialists suchas surgeons, radiologists, cardiologists, and oncologists, emergencymedical technicians, physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners,nurses, nurses' aides, pharmacists, dieticians, microbiologists,laboratory experts, laboratory technologists, genetic counselors,researchers, veterinarians, students, and the like. The remote computers28 may also be physically located in non-traditional medical careenvironments so that the entire health care community may be capable ofintegration on the network. The remote computers 28 may be personalcomputers, servers, routers, network PCs, peer devices, other commonnetwork nodes, or the like, and may include some or all of the elementsdescribed above in relation to the server 22. The devices can bepersonal digital assistants or other like devices.

Exemplary computer networks 26 may include, without limitation, localarea networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs). Such networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computernetworks, intranets, and the Internet. When utilized in a WAN networkingenvironment, the server 22 may include a modem or other means forestablishing communications over the WAN, such as the Internet. In anetworked environment, program modules or portions thereof may be storedin the server 22, in the database cluster 24, or on any of the remotecomputers 28. For example, and not by way of limitation, variousapplication programs may reside on the memory associated with any one ormore of the remote computers 28. It will be appreciated by those ofordinary skill in the art that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers (e.g., server 22 and remote computers 28) may be utilized.

In operation, a user may enter commands and information into the server22 or convey the commands and information to the server 22 via one ormore of the remote computers 28 through input devices, such as akeyboard, a pointing device (commonly referred to as a mouse), atrackball, or a touch pad. Other input devices may include, withoutlimitation, microphones, satellite dishes, scanners, or the like.Commands and information may also be sent directly from a remotehealthcare device to the server 22. In addition to a monitor, the server22 and/or remote computers 28 may include other peripheral outputdevices, such as speakers and a printer.

Although many other internal components of the server 22 and the remotecomputers 28 are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that such components and their interconnection are wellknown. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internalconstruction of the server 22 and the remote computers 28 are notfurther disclosed herein.

Although methods and systems of embodiments of the present invention aredescribed as being implemented in a WINDOWS operating system, operatingin conjunction with an Internet-based system, one of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that the described methods and systems can beimplemented in any system supporting the receipt and processing ofhealthcare-related orders, particularly, molecular diagnostic orders. Ascontemplated by the language above, the methods and systems ofembodiments of the present invention may also be implemented on astand-alone desktop, personal computer, or any other computing deviceused in a healthcare environment or any of a number of other locations.

As previously mentioned, embodiments of the present invention relate tocomputerized methods and systems for permitting clinicians and otherhealthcare providers to designate performance locations for clinicalorders having one or more phases associated therewith, and forpresenting order catalog content that is flexed based upon thedesignated performance location for the clinical order. Embodiments ofthe present invention further relate to computerized methods and systemsfor permitting clinicians and other healthcare providers to designate aperformance location for each phase of a multi-phase clinical order, andfor presenting order catalog content for each phase that is flexed basedupon the designated performance location for the phase. Additionally,embodiments of the present invention relate to control of plan and phaseinitiation based at least upon a location associated with the chartencounter. With reference to FIG. 2, an exemplary computing systemsuitable for implementing embodiments of the present invention isillustrated and designated generally as reference numeral 200. System200 includes a server 210, a user device 212, and a data store 214, allin communication with one another through a network 216. The network 216may include, without limitation, one or more local area networks (LANs)and/or wide area networks (WANs). Such networking environments arecommonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets,and the Internet. Accordingly, the network 216 is not further describedherein.

The data store 214 is configured to store information associated with atleast one clinical order for a patient, the clinical order having one ormore phases associated therewith. (The terms “individual”, “person”, and“patient” are used interchangeably herein and are not meant to limit thenature of the referenced individual in any way. Rather the methods andsystems described herein are equally applicable, for instance, in aveterinary setting. Further, use of the term “patient” is not meant toimply any particular relationship between the individual and thoseinputting, ordering and/or individualizing the clinical order.) Invarious embodiments, such information may include, without limitation, aclinical order designation, a location to be associated with a clinicalorder, a location to be associated with a particular phase of theclinical order, plan level details related to the clinical order(standard or individualized), order-level details related to aparticular phase of the clinical order (standard or individualized), andthe like. In embodiments, the data store 214 is configured to besearchable for one or more clinical orders, phases and/or plan/orderdetails stored in association therewith. It will be understood andappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the informationstored in the data store 214 may be configurable and may include anyinformation relevant to a clinical order and/or a patient associatedtherewith. The content and volume of such information are not intendedto limit the scope of embodiments of the present invention in any way.Further, though illustrated as a single, independent component, the datastore 214 may, in fact, be a plurality of data stores, for instance, adatabase cluster, portions of which may reside on the server 210, theuser device 212, another external computing device (not shown) and/orany combination thereof.

The server 210 includes various components and is configured to operateutilizing at least a portion of the information stored in the data store214. The illustrated server 210 includes an order indication receivingcomponent 218, an encounter-type receiving component 220, a locationreceiving component 222, a selection receiving component 224, anindividualization component 226, a location-association determiningcomponent 228, an associating component 230, an initiation-determiningcomponent 232, an initiating component 234, and a presenting component236. It will be understood and appreciated by those of ordinary skill inthe art that other components not shown may also be included with thesystem 200. Further, additional components not shown may also beincluded within any of the server 210, the user device 212, the datastore 214, and/or another external computing device (not shown). Any andall such variations are contemplated to be within the scope ofembodiments hereof.

The order-indication receiving component 218 is configured to receive,in association with a chart encounter associated with a firstperformance location (i.e., the encounter the user has selected withinthe patient's electronic record at the current time and at the currentperformance location), an indication that the user desires to place aclinical order. In embodiments, the clinical order includes one or morephases associated therewith. For instance, a healthcare plan containinga chemotherapy protocol for a patient may specify that a particularmedication, cyclophosphamide, is to be administered to the patient in anormalized dose of 500 mg/m² on each of Day 1, Day 8, and Day 15 oftreatment. In this instance, each of Day 1, Day 8 an Day 15 aredifferent phases of the clinical order for the chemotherapy protocol. Inanother example, a healthcare plan containing an arthroscopic surgicalprotocol for a patient may specify that a pre-operative consultation, asurgical procedure, post-operative care, and physical therapy are tooccur for a particular patient. In this instance, each of thepre-operative consultation, the surgical procedure, the post-operativecare and the physical therapy are different phases of the clinical orderfor the arthroscopic surgical protocol. (It should be noted that thislatter example is illustrated in FIG. 5 and more fully described hereinbelow.)

Referring to FIG. 8, a screen display of an exemplary user interface 800that may be utilized for receiving an indication that a user desires toplace a clinical order is illustrated. (It is noted that the userinterface 800 of FIG. 8 is configured for designation of a performancelocation on a plan level (or an initial filtering stage, as more fullydescribed below). Designation of a performance location on a phase levelis more fully described below with reference to FIGS. 10-14.) In theillustrated user interface 800, a user may evidence a desire to place aclinical order by selecting the “PLAN CATALOG” indicator 812 or the“PERSONAL PLANS” indicator 814 from the presented selection optionsdisplay area 810. The “PLAN CATALOG” indicator 812 is shown as selectedin the illustrated user interface 800. Upon user selection of the “PLANCATALOG” indicator 812, an indication that the user desires to place aclinical order selected from the plan catalog may be received by theorder-indication receiving component 218 of FIG. 2.

Returning to FIG. 2, the encounter-type receiving component 220 isconfigured to receive an indication that a clinical order is to beperformed in association with either the chart (or current) encounter ora future encounter, that is, an encounter within the patient'selectronic record associated with a future time of performance. Ifdesired, the encounter-type receiving component 220 further may beconfigured to receive an indication of encounter-type based upon acriterion other than time of performance. For instance, theencounter-type receiving component 220 may be configured to receive anindication that the encounter for which placement of a clinical order isbeing initiated is an inpatient encounter or outpatient encounter. Anyand all such variations are contemplated to be within the scope hereof.

With reference again to the screen display of FIG. 8, a user may specifythe type of encounter for which it is desired to place a clinical orderby inputting, or selecting from a pre-defined list of options, anencounter-type in encounter-type options display area 816. If desired,default content may appear in encounter-type options display area 816upon selection of an indicator (e.g., the “PLAN CATALOG” indicator) fromthe selection options display area 810. In the illustrated userinterface 800, upon selection of the “FUTURE VISIT” encounter-type inthe encounter-type options display area 816, and indication that theuser desires to place a clinical order for a future visit may bereceived by the encounter-type receiving component 220 of FIG. 2.

Returning to FIG. 2, the location receiving component 222 is configuredto receive a performance location designation to be associated with aclinical order being placed by the user. The designated performancelocation may be the location associated with the chart encounter or aperformance location differing from the location of the chart encounter.In one embodiment, if an indication has been received (e.g., utilizingencounter-type receiving component 220) that the user desires theclinical order being placed to be performed in association with thechart encounter (as opposed to a future encounter), the designatedperformance location will default to the location associated with thechart encounter and specification by the user of a desired performancelocation will not be necessary.

In embodiments, the designated performance location may be agrouped-performance location. A grouped-performance location designationis a location designation that represents a plurality of locations. Forinstance, a grouped-performance location of “all” would cause flexing ofthe content associated with a selected clinical order or phase of aclinical order based upon all of the locations at which the particularclinical order or phase is capable of being performed. In suchembodiments, subsequent selection of a particular location within thegrouping is eventually required before ordering of the clinical order orphase is permitted.

Turning again to the screen display of FIG. 8, a user may specify thelocation at which it is desired for the clinical order being placed tobe performed by inputting, or selecting from a pre-defined list ofoptions, a performance location in location-specification display area818. In embodiments, a pre-defined listing of allowable performancelocations based, for instance, on the identity of the user placing theclinical order, is made available for selection in association with thelocation-specification display area 818.

It will be understood and appreciated by persons having ordinary skillin the art that input and receipt of both an encounter-type and aperformance location designation may not be necessary. For instance, ifa performance location is designated as other than the location of thechart encounter, clearly the clinical order being placed is intended fora future visit and specific input and receipt of an encounter-type isnot necessary.

Returning to FIG. 2, upon receipt of a performance location designationand/or encounter-type, content from the plan catalog (or other planselection database) is flexed and presented by presenting component 236.That is, based upon the information received by one or both of theencounter-type receiving component 220 and the location receivingcomponent 222, plans that are available to the user for selection arepresented. As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art,such presentation by the presenting component 236 will typically beimplemented via the presenting component 236 accessing user,encounter-type and/or location based plan information from the datastore 214 (through the network 216), and transmitting such accessed planinformation through the network 216 to the user device 212 where it ispresented to the user. Such accessing and transmitting of informationare well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and, accordingly,are not further described herein. The presenting component 236 andadditional functionality that may be associated therewith is more fullydescribed below.

With reference back to FIG. 8, in the illustrated embodiment, theaccessed and transmitted plan information is displayed in the clinicalorder information display area 820 of user interface 800 in the form ofselectable clinical order options. Generally, due to the volume of planinformation available to a user, further filtering of the selectableclinical order options to be displayed based upon keyword will bedesired. Thus, a user may input into the keyword search field 822, oneor more keywords that are to be included in all returned selectableclinical order options. In the illustrated embodiment, the user hasfiltered the clinical order options based upon the keyword “TOTAL” andall selectable clinical order options returned and presented in theclinical order information display area 820 contain the word “TOTAL”therein. Subsequent to input of the keyword, the “SEARCH” button 824 maybe selected to initiate searching of a data store (e.g., data store 214of FIG. 2) for the appropriate information.

With reference to FIG. 9, an screen display of another embodiment of anexemplary user interface 900 that may be utilized in similar fashion tothat described above with reference to FIG. 8 is illustrated anddesignated generally as reference numeral 900. In the illustratedembodiment, the user has specified that the clinical order options befiltered only based upon keyword and has not designated either aperformance location or encounter-type. Accordingly, both theencounter-type options display area 816 and the location specificationdisplay area 818 have no content displayed therein and all selectableclinical order options displayed in the clinical order informationdisplay area 820 are automatically filtered based upon the location ofthe chart encounter. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), thecontent of the encounter-type options display area 816 and/or thelocation specification display area 818 may display the state of default(e.g., current encounter and location associated with the chartencounter, respectively). Any an all such variations are contemplated tobe within the scope of embodiments of the present invention.

Returning now to FIG. 2, the selection receiving component 224 isconfigured to receive a selection of a selectable clinical order option.With reference to FIG. 10, a screen display of an exemplary userinterface 1000 that may be displayed subsequent to user selection of aselectable clinical order option displayed in the clinical orderinformation display area 820 of FIG. 8 is illustrated and designatedgenerally as reference numeral 1000. In the illustrated embodiment, theuser has selected the clinical order option “TOTAL KNEE PATHWAY—PREOP &REHAB” from the clinical order information display area 820 of FIG. 8.As illustrated in FIG. 10, the content of the selection options displayarea 810 and the clinical order information display area 820 has flexedbased upon the received clinical order selection. Thus, upon the userselecting the “TOTAL KNEE PATHWAY—PREOP & REHAB” clinical order option,such selection was received, e.g., by selection receiving component 224of FIG. 2, and appropriately flexed content based upon the selectedclinical order option was presented (e.g., utilizing presentingcomponent 236 of FIG. 2) in both the selection options display area 810and clinical order information display area 820. The displayed contentshown in the selection options display area 810 now lists the variousphases that are included in the TOTAL KNEE PATHWAY—PREOP & REHABhealthcare plan (clinical order).

With reference to FIG. 2, the selection receiving component 224 isfurther configured to receive a selection of one of the phase indicatorsassociated with a selected clinical order option. For instance, in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, one of the phases (i.e.,“PREADMISSION EVAL (PLANNED PENDING)”) has been selected by the user inthe selection options display area 810 (and received, for instance, byselection receiving component 224 of FIG. 2). Accordingly, the contentof the clinical order information display area 820 includes order leveldetails associated with the selected phase. If a particular phase hadnot yet been selected by the user, the clinical order informationdisplay area may display the same phase information as is illustrated inthe selection options display area 810 (or a portion thereof), or theclinical order information display area 820 may have no contentdisplayed therein. Any and all such variations are contemplated to bewithin the scope of embodiments of the present invention.

With continued reference to the user interface 1000 of FIG. 10, notethat an encounter-type has been input, selected, or defaulted in theencounter-type options display area 816 and a performance location hasbeen designated (via input, selection, or default) in thelocation-specification display area 818. The information in each ofthese fields 816 and 818 is now specific to the selected phase. That is,the user has indicated that the phase selected in the selection optionsdisplay area 810 (i.e., “PREADMISSION EVAL (PLANNED PENDING)”) is to beperformed during the current visit at XYZ Clinic. In accordance withsuch user designations, the order details displayed in the clinicalorder information display area 820 are flexed. Accordingly, referringback to FIG. 2, the encounter-type receiving component 220 is furtherconfigured to receive an indication that a particular phase of aclinical order is to be performed in association with either the chart(or current) encounter or a future encounter and the location receivingcomponent 222 is further configured to receive a performance locationdesignation to be associated with a particular phase of the clinicalorder being placed by the user.

Contrast FIG. 10 with the user interface 1200 of FIG. 12. The same phaseof the TOTAL KNEE PATHWAY—PREOP & REHAB multi-phase clinical order hasbeen selected but the content displayed in the clinical orderinformation display area 820 differs. This is due to the differingencounter type and/or performance locations designated. The contrastbetween these two figures illustrates the flexing of the detail-levelcontent based upon location and/or encounter type.

With reference back to FIG. 10, as the selected phase is to be performedin association with the current visit, the location associated with thechart encounter associated with the user interface 1000 of FIG. 10 isXYZ clinic. Thus, the location displayed in the location-specificationdisplay area 818 may be a defaulted location and the order detailsdisplayed in the clinical order information display area 820 may havebeen automatically presented upon designation of the encounter type. Ifthe user had instead indicated that the encounter-type was to be afuture visit, user designation of a performance location would have beennecessary prior to content being displayed in the clinical orderinformation display area 820. In one embodiment, prior to userdesignation of a performance location in the location-specificationdisplay area 818, a message alerting the user that a performancelocation must be input prior to display of the order details associatedwith the selected phase may be presented in the clinical orderinformation display area 820. An exemplary such embodiment isillustrated in the user interface 1100 of FIG. 11. Similarly, if thephase selected in the selection options display area 810 is not capableof being performed at the location of the chart encounter, the encountertype may default to FUTURE VISIT and the user interface 1100 of FIG. 11may be presented. In such embodiment, the user would not be permitted tomanually change the type of encounter presented in the encounter-typeoptions display area 816.

Once clinical order information or order details associated with aparticular phase are presented in the clinical order information displayarea 820 (e.g., FIG. 9 or 10, respectively), individualization of thecontent may be implemented by the user. Accordingly, with reference backto FIG. 2, the individualization component 226 is configured to receiveorder-level individualization information and/or detail-levelindividualization information for a clinical order and/or a particularphase of a clinical order, respectively. Individualization is generallyallowed as long as the specified information is capable of beingimplemented at the designated location. In embodiments, if a userattempts to input individualization information that is not permittedbased upon the designated location, a message indicating such (notshown) may be displayed.

Often, more than one phase of a multi-phase clinical order is performedas part of a single patient encounter. For instance, a patientundergoing surgery is likely admitted to the surgical location andundergoes pre-operative preparation, surgery and post-operative carebefore being discharged from the surgical location. Thus, while each ofpre-operative preparation, surgery and post-operative care may bedifferent phases of a multi-phase clinical order, each of these phasesis part of a single patient encounter. Accordingly, in suchcircumstances, a single performance location should be designated andenforced with respect to all of the locationally-associated phases. Inthis regard, the location-association determining component 228 isconfigured to determine that a particular phase of a multi-phaseclinical order is locationally-associated with another phase of themulti-phase clinical order. Further, upon determination that aparticular phase of the multi-phase clinical order islocationally-associated with at least one other phase of the multi-phaseclinical order, the associating component 230 is configured toautomatically associate (that is, without user intervention), thedesignated performance location specified for the particular phase withthe other locationally-associated phase(s). Such association will thenbe enforced and any attempt by the user to alter the performancelocation designation associated with one of the phases will result in anerror message (not shown) being displayed or a message (not shown)indicating that alteration of that particular performance locationdesignation will result in alteration of the location of otherlocationally-associated phases.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the fact that aclinical order having one or more phases associated therewith may beordered does not necessarily mean that the clinical orders and/or phasesmay be initiated. That is, initiation of ordered clinical orders and/orphases may be limited based upon designated performance location and/orthe existence of intervening phases. Generally, initiation of clinicalorders and/or phases having a designated performance location that isthe same as the location of the chart encounter are permitted, as longas there are no intervening orders or phases the completion of which isrequired prior to initiation of the clinical order or phase. In thisregard, the initiation-determining component 232 is configured todetermine whether a selected phase of a multi-phase clinical order iscapable of being initiated in association with the chart encounter. Aphase is capable of being initiated in association with the chartencounter if it is designated to be performed at the location associatedwith the chart encounter and all requirements regarding completion ofother orders or phases prior to initiation have been met.

For instance, referring back to the arthroscopic surgical protocoldescribed herein above, if the post-operative care phase and thesurgical phase are to be performed at the same location (for instance,if the two phases are locationally-associated with one another), thepost-operative care phase may be capable of being initiated by a userengaged in a chart encounter with the surgical phase if no requirementregarding completion of the surgical phase prior to initiation of thepost-operative care phase would prevent such initiation. If, however, auser attempts to initiate a phase associated with a performance locationother than the location associated with the chart encounter, or if anyintervening phases are required to be completed prior to initiation ofthe phase, an error message may be presented to the user, e.g.,utilizing presenting component 236. A screen display showing anexemplary user interface 1300 having such an error message 1310 isillustrated in FIG. 13. In response to the displayed message 1310, theuser may alter either the performance location designated in thelocation-specification display area 818 or the encounter type designatedin the encounter-type options display area 816, which would default theperformance location to the location associated with the chartencounter, if initiation of the phase is still desired. If the userchooses not to alter either of the encounter-type or performancelocation designation, the phase may be initiated at the time ofengagement of a patient encounter at Hospital X (so long as completionof all intervening phases for which completion is required have beencompleted).

Returning to FIG. 2, upon determining that a phase is capable of beinginitiated in association with the chart encounter, and receiving anindication from the user that initiation of the phase is desired, theinitiating component 234 is configured to initiate the designated phaseof the clinical order.

The presenting component 236 was discussed herein above. By way ofsummary, the presenting component 236 is configured to present at leastone selectable clinical order option representing an orderable clinicalorder. The presenting component 236 is further configured to presentcontent associated with the orderable clinical order represented by theselectable clinical order option. In accordance with embodiments hereof,the orderable clinical order includes one or more phases associatedtherewith. Accordingly, the presenting component 236 is furtherconfigured to present a phase indicator for each of the phasesassociated with the selectable clinical order option(s). In this regard,the presenting component 236 is further configured to present contentassociated with a phase of the clinical order associated with a selectedphase indicator, the presented content being based upon (or flexed inaccordance with) the received performance location designation.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram showing a method for permittingordering of clinical orders, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention, is illustrated and designated generally as referencenumeral 300. Method 300 may be implemented in the above-describedexemplary computing system environment (FIG. 1), and, by way of exampleonly, may be utilized by a clinician to place a clinical order havingone or more phases associated therewith for a patient during a chartencounter.

Initially, as indicated at block 310, an indication is received, inassociation with a chart encounter associated with a first location,that a user desires to place a clinical order having one or more phasestherewith, wherein each of the phases is to be performed at the samelocation. Such indication may be received, for instance, utilizingorder-indication receiving component 218 of FIG. 2. Next, as indicatedat block 312, a performance location designation to be associated withthe clinical order is received (for instance, utilizing locationreceiving component 222 of FIG. 2). The designated performance locationmay be the same location as the first location or a location thatdiffers from the location associated with the first location. Though notillustrated in FIG. 3, if desired, an indication of the encounter-typeassociated with the clinical order may also be received, e.g., utilizingencounter-type receiving component 220 of FIG. 2.

Based upon the performance location designation received, one or moreclinical order options is presented, e.g., utilizing presentingcomponent 236 of FIG. 2. This is indicated at block 314. Each selectableclinical order option represents an orderable clinical order having oneor more phases associated therewith, each of the phases being capable ofbeing performed at the designated performance location. Subsequently, aselection of one of the presented selectable clinical order options isreceived, as indicated at block 316. Such selection may be received, forinstance, utilizing selection receiving component 224 of FIG. 2. Uponreceiving such selection, content associated with the selected clinicalorder is presented, such presented content being flexed based upon thereceived performance location designation, for instance, utilizingpresenting component 236 of FIG. 2. This is indicated at block 318.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram showing a method for permittingordering of clinical orders to be associated with a future encounterwherein a grouped performance designation is received, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, is illustrated anddesignated generally as reference numeral 400. Initially, as indicatedat block 410, in association with a chart encounter associated with afirst location, an indication is received that a user desires to place aclinical order, the clinical order having one or more phases associatedtherewith, each of the phases to be performed at the same location. Suchorder-indication may be received, for instance, utilizingorder-indication receiving component 218 of FIG. 2. Subsequently, asindicated at block 412, a grouped-performance location designation to beassociated with the clinical order is received, for instance, utilizinglocation receiving component 222. (Though not illustrated in FIG. 4, ifdesired, an encounter-type to be associated with the clinical order mayalso be received, for instance, utilizing encounter-type receivingcomponent 220 of FIG. 2.) Subsequently, as indicated at block 414, atleast one selectable clinical order option is presented, for instance,utilizing presenting component 236 of FIG. 2. Each presented selectableclinical order option represents an orderable clinical order each phaseof which is capable of begin performed at one or more of the locationsassociated with the grouped-performance location designation.

Next, as indicated at block 416, selection of a one of the presentedclinical order options is received, for instance, utilizing selectionreceiving component 224 of FIG. 2. Subsequent to receipt of a selectedclinical order, each of the locations associated with the designatedgrouped-performance location at which the selected clinical order optionis capable of being performed is presented, for instance, utilizingpresenting component 236 of FIG. 2, as indicated at block 418. Aselection of one of the presented performance locations is received, forinstance, utilizing selection receiving component 224 of FIG. 2. This isindicated at block 420. Subsequently, as indicated at block 422, contentassociated with the selected clinical order is presented (e.g.,utilizing presenting component 236 of FIG. 2), the content being flexedbased upon the selected location.

The methods shown in the flow diagrams 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3 and 4,respectively, relate to clinical orders having phases that are all to beperformed at the same location. Thus, a location designation is receivedonly for the clinical order and then applied to each of the phases ofthe clinical order without further designation. As set forth previously,however, in accordance with embodiments hereof, location designationsmay be received on a phase-level as well if all phases of a clinicalorder are not to be performed at the same location. An exemplaryclinical order (plan) having multiple phases, at least some of which areto be performed at locations differing from one another, is illustratedin FIG. 5. The illustrated clinical order has been described hereinabove.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram showing a method for presentingcontent associated with a multi-phase clinical order based upon adesignated performance location is illustrated and designated generallyas reference numeral 600. Initially, as indicated at block 610, aselection of a multi-phase clinical order is received in associationwith a chart encounter associated with a first location, for instance,utilizing selection receiving component 224 of FIG. 2. Subsequently, asindicated at block 612, for each of the phases of the multi-phaseclinical order, a performance location designation is received thatrepresents a location at which the associated phase is to be performed,for instance, utilizing location receiving component 222 of FIG. 2. Theperformance locations for at least two of the phases of the multi-phaseclinical order differ from one another. Next, as indicated at block 614,content associated with at least one phase of the multi-phase clinicalorder is presented, for instance, utilizing presenting component 236 ofFIG. 2. The presented content is based upon the selected performancelocation associated with the presented phase(s).

With reference to FIGS. 7A-7C, a flow diagram showing a method forpresenting content associated with a multi-phase clinical order basedupon a designated performance location, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention, is illustrated and designated generally asreference numeral 700. Initially, as indicated at block 710, inassociation with a chart encounter associated with a first performancelocation, an indication that user desires to place a multi-phaseclinical order is received, for instance, utilizing order-indicationreceiving component 218 of FIG. 2. Subsequently, as indicated at block712, at least one selectable multi-phase clinical order option ispresented, e.g., utilizing presenting component 236 of FIG. 2. Eachpresented selectable multi-phase clinical order option represents amulti-phase clinical order having at least one phase that is capable ofbeing performed at the first performance location. Next, as indicated atblock 714, a selection of one of the presented selectable multi-phaseclinical order option is received (for instance, utilizing selectionreceiving component 224 of FIG. 2). Phase indicators for each phaseassociated with the selected multi-phase clinical order option aresubsequently presented (e.g., utilizing presenting component 236), asindicated at block 716. Selection of one of the presented phaseindicators is subsequently received (e.g., utilizing selection receivingcomponent 224 of FIG. 2). This is indicated at block 718.

Subsequently, as indicated at block 720, it is determined whether thephase associated with the selected phase indicator is capable of beingperformed at the first location (the location associated with the chartencounter). Such action may be performed, for instance, utilizinginitiation-determining component 232 of FIG. 2. If it is determined thatthe phase associated with the selected phase indicator is capable ofbeing performed at the first location, phase content is presented (e.g.,utilizing presenting component 236 of FIG. 2) that is flexed based uponthe capabilities at the first location. This is indicated at block 722.Next, as indicated at block 724, it is determined whether the userdesires for the phase to be performed at the first location. Suchdetermination may be made, for instance, by receiving a user indicationof the location to be associated with the selected phase, e.g.,utilizing location receiving component 222 of FIG. 2.

If it is determined that the user desires for the phase to be performedat the first location, it is next determined whether the phase can beperformed in association with the chart encounter, e.g., utilizinginitiation-determining component 232 of FIG. 2. This is indicated atblock 734. If the selected phase cannot be performed in association withthe chart encounter (for instance, if there are intervening phases thatmust be completed prior to initiation of the selected phase), initiationof the phase is not permitted, as indicated at block 736. If, however,it is determined that the selected phase is capable of being performedin association with the chart encounter, it is determined whether theuser desires the phase to be performed in association with the chartencounter, as indicated at block 738 (for instance, utilizinginitiation-determining component 232 of FIG. 2). A user may evidencesuch desire, for instance, by indicating an encounter-type as FUTURE orCURRENT (e.g., utilizing encounter-type receiving component 220 of FIG.2). If it is determined that the user does not desire for the phase tobe performed in association with the chart encounter, initiation of thephase is not permitted, as indicated at block 736. However, if it isdetermined that performance of the selected phase in association withthe chart encounter is desired, initiation of the phase is permitted, asindicated at block 740.

Returning to block 724, if it is determined that the user does notdesire for the phase to be performed at the first location, thepresented phase content is removed, as indicated at block 726, and amessage indicating that a location must be chosen before the phasecontent can be displayed is presented (e.g., utilizing presentingcomponent 236 of FIG. 2), as indicated at block 728. A user may evidencea desire for the phase to be performed at a location other than thefirst location, for instance, by designating a performance location thatdiffers from that of the first location, for instance, utilizinglocation receiving component 222. The second performance location issubsequently received, as indicated at block 730, for instance,utilizing location receiving component 222 of FIG. 2. Note that suchlocation may have already been received as evidence of the user's desirefor the selected to be performed at a location other than the firstlocation. In such circumstance, the step indicated at block 730 may beperformed in conjunction with block 724 and block 728 is not necessary.Once a performance location has been designated, content of the selectedphase is presented to the user, the content being flexed based upon thesecond performance location, for instance, utilizing presentingcomponent 236 of FIG. 2. This is indicated at block 732.

Returning now to block 720 of FIG. 7A, if it is determined that thephase associated with the selected phase indicator cannot be performedat the first location, a message indicating a performance location mustbe designated prior to displaying content of the selected phase ispresented to the user, for instance, utilizing presenting component 236of FIG. 2. This is indicated at block 742. Subsequently, a secondperformance location designation, differing from the first location, isreceived (for instance, utilizing location receiving component 222 ofFIG. 2). This is indicated at block 744. Once a performance location hasbeen designated, content of the selected phase is presented to the user,the content being flexed based upon the second performance location, forinstance, utilizing presenting component 236 of FIG. 2. This isindicated at block 746.

As can be understood, embodiments of the present invention providecomputerized methods and systems for permitting clinicians and otherhealthcare providers to designate performance locations for clinicalorders having one or more phases associated therewith, and to presentingorder catalog content that is flexed based upon the designatedperformance location for the clinical order. Embodiments of the presentinvention further provide computerized methods and systems forpermitting clinicians and other healthcare providers to designate aperformance location for each phase of a multi-phase clinical order, andto presenting order catalog content for each phase that is flexed basedupon the designated performance location for the phase. Additionally,embodiments of the present invention provide control of plan and phaseinitiation based at least upon a location associated with the chartencounter.

The present invention has been described in relation to particularembodiments, which are intended in all respects to be illustrativerather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art to which the present inventionpertains without departing from its scope.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, togetherwith other advantages which are obvious and inherent to the system andmethod. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand sub-combinations. This is contemplated and within the scope of theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. One or more tangible computer-readable storagemedia having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon forpresenting a user interface for presenting content associated withclinical orders based upon designated performance locations, the userinterface comprising: a location-specification display area thatreceives and displays a designated performance location to be associatedwith a clinical order of a current encounter, wherein a currentencounter is a clinical order that is currently selected in a patient'schart, and wherein the clinical order comprises one or more phases andeach phase of the one or more phases is associated with a performancelocation; a selection options display area that presents selectablephase indicators associated with the one or more phases of the clinicalorder where at least one phase of the one or more phases is associatedwith a second location different from the designated performancelocation such that selection of the at least one phase associated withthe second location results in an alert indicating that thelocation-specification display area requires a designation of aperformance location to display content associated with the at least onephase associated with the second location, and wherein the one or morephases are sub-components of the clinical order of the currentencounter, and wherein the location-specification display area isupdated to display the content associated with the at least one phaseassociated with the second location upon receipt of the designation ofthe second location; and a clinical order information display area that,based on the designated performance location, presents contentassociated with the at least one phase of the clinical order that wasselected.
 2. The media of claim 1, further comprising an encounter-typeoptions display area that receives and displays an encounter type to beassociated with the clinical order.
 3. The media of claim 2, wherein thereceived encounter type is one of an encounter type indicative of acurrent encounter at a current time of performance or an encounter typeindicative of a future encounter at a future time of performance.
 4. Themedia of claim 1, wherein the location-specification display areareceives and displays the designated performance location to beassociated with a selected phase of the one or more phases of theclinical order.
 5. The media of claim 4, wherein the clinical orderinformation display area displays content associated with the selectedphase of the one or more phases of the clinical order.
 6. The media ofclaim 1, further comprising a plan initiation indicator that indicateswhether the clinical order is capable of being initiated in associationwith a chart encounter, wherein the clinical order is capable of beinginitiated in association with the chart encounter when the clinicalorder is designated to be performed at a location associated with thechart encounter and all required preceding clinical orders have beencompleted.